At the service John Rowlands, a teacher from her school, said: “Our school is like one big family and we are shocked and deeply saddened at the loss of one of our children. For the adults who worked with Bobby-Jo on a daily basis and the friends who played with her each day, Bobby-Jo is a big loss.”

He added: “All of the children in the class have been given a bear to help them remember Bobby-Jo by. We have told the children if they ever want to think about Bobby-Jo or send her a message in heaven, all they have to do is hug their bear.”

Before the funeral, grandmother Pat Beattie, 66, who lived around the corner from Bobby-Jo with husband Billy, said: “She was really outgoing, loved the outdoors and that’s why she wanted a horse. Her sister Chantelle was going to try and get her horse riding lessons after Christmas.

“We’re still getting her what she wanted, but in different circumstances by having a horse and carriage at her funeral. She’s getting everything she ever wanted when she goes.

“She was just the light of our lives, she was our rock. We were robbed, I don’t know what we’re going to do now.”

Bobby-Jo’s illness started with a headache before she began to vomit.

She was taken to Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary, and during the ambulance journey her heart stopped several times.

Steve said: “The doctors said it could have happened at any time. It was horrendous, absolutely horrendous. The only small bit of comfort was that she was with people she loved.”

Billy, a long-distance driver, said: “I was holding her hand when the doctors were working on her and I kept telling her everyone was there for her.

“Her heart kept stopping and starting and it was complete torture. The doctors wouldn’t give up, I know they did everything they could.”